Tongue Tied *UNDERGOING EDITING*

16. Desperately Alone

Play the song on the right when it says so in the text :) It goes along with what you'll be reading.

Ariel's POV

Luke somehow ended up at my house two days later. The presentation and book cover were due tomorrow, which was Friday,  and the report was due next Monday, so he was helping finish up our presentation. And I was freaking out.

"Ariel, calm down. Everything's going to be fine." Luke says to me as he fishes his index cards out of his backpack. We're sitting on the two couches in the living room working on what we will say and how to coordinate it. "But what if I mess up." I say to him, the sentence sounding more like a statement rather than a question.

"You won't mess up." Luke says. 'Yes! Finally." he adds. "What?" I ask, drawing my attention away from the painting that hangs above the fireplace towards Luke who is fanning out the index cards he must have just found. "I found my cards." he says. "Oh."

He sits down in front of the wooden coffee table with his index cards and starts reading through them. "So what do we have to do?" I ask, joining him at he coffee table. I fold my legs under me and look through my cards as well. "I think we just have to practice." he says. He stands up, sets up the poster and then stands to the side of it. "Well? Are you gonna come up here and practice or sit there staring and wondering like an idiot?" he questions, a smile peeking out. I roll my eyes and stand up.

"You can start." he says, looking at me. I feel myself blush and look down at my cards. We start the presentation and it goes pretty smoothly. After practicing a few more times, Luke and I retreat to the kitchen for some lunch. I open the refrigerator door and look through it. "We have....nothing. Let me check the cupboard." I say and cross the kitchen to the pantry.

"Mac and cheese?" I ask while turning to face him, a box of SpongeBob mac and cheese in my hand. "You have SpongeBob mac and cheese?" he asks, laughing. "Yeah, so? I like the stove top better than the microwave." I say, closing the door and walking over to the stove. "Same." Luke says.

I start boiling the water while looking at the other directions. "Gosh I haven't had this in such a long time." I say. "Really?" Luke asks, suddenly behind me. I whip around, placing my hands behind me to balance on the stove top, which is burning hot. "Ouch." I say, yanking my hand away from the stove and bringing it towards my face to get a better look. "Great, I just burned half of my palm because you nearly scared the shit out of me, Luke." I say.

"Oops." is all he says before cracking  smile. "Its not funny! It stings like a bitch." I say, sidestepping him to get to the sink. "Oh, so the little nerd swears when she gets hurt." he says, running a hand through his hair. "Shut up. I don't hurt myself that often." I retort, trying to keep a smile of my own off my face. "You should run that under some cold water." he adds, suddenly beside me. "You have to stop scaring me like that, or I might lose a limb." I say as he reaches his hand out to turn on the sink.

He flips the handle and the cool water comes flowing smoothly from the tap. I cautiously place my hand under the water and ignore the small stinging sensation that comes before the relief. "Thanks." I say, keeping my hand under the icy water. Luke walks over to the stove and pours in the shaped noodles. He stirs it and then brings his attention back to me. "Where do you keep your dish towels?" he asks.

"Over there, second drawer down." I say nodding in the direction of the towels. He opens the drawer and pulls one out. Then he turns off the tap and wraps my hand in the dry towel. He slowly pats it dry and then tosses the towel aside. "Careful. We don't want to burn the house down." I say, pulling the corner of the towel off the hot stove top. "Now that would be bad." he says. "Um yeah. I don't think my parents would be too happy about that." I say and he laughs.